Ricoh GR DIGITAL III Reviews

TheDecisiveMoment reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“I have a new found respect for Ricoh. The GR Digital III is a fine camera. A surprisingly excellent camera in fact. I feel bad that I am surprised by the quality (sorry Ricoh – I really didn’t know) but I’m spreading the word now.”Rating: N/A

Gaj-it reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“I might have liked to see some sort of optical zoom, but I guess it is not for that type of photography. You will need to be an enthusiast, or professional to afford it as well as it doesn’t come cheap, but quality rarely does.”Rating:

Steve’sDigicams reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“Overall, I found the camera fit very well in my large hands, and was easy to operate with one or two hands. This is possible mostly because of the nice large hand grip on the right hand side of the camera…So, if you are one who is in the market for a very well-built camera with some outstanding features, and price is not an issue, look no further.”Rating: N/A

TrustedReviews reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“Ricoh GR Digital III remains a unique camera. It offers a range of user control normally associated with fairly advanced DSLRs in a well-designed, slim and pocket-friendly camera that is a genuine pleasure to use. Image quality is comparable with the very best that compact cameras can offer, with build quality and finish to match.”Rating:

RegHardware reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“The Ricoh GR Digital III is a great camera for the person who puts performance and control over fancy features. It offers superb handling, fantastic customisation and really lets your creative juices flow. The one drawback is the price…”Rating:

CNET.uk reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“Two things might stop you considering the Ricoh GR Digital III: the price and its fixed-focal-length lens. If you can swallow those, you can look forward to a camera with levels of build, design and image quality that really set it apart from the rest”Rating:

CNET.au reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“In terms of its noise profile, it performed much better than what we’ve seen on previous Ricoh cameras, with noticeable grain appearing at ISO 400 but not seriously impinging on image quality until ISO 1600. There are options to turn on noise reduction, but we performed our tests with this setting turned off. Even ISO 800 could deliver a reasonable 4×6-inch print without too much of an issue.”Rating:

ePhotozine reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“If you’re a macro or landscape photographer and you need a slim line compact either for reconnaissance of a location or if you’re out and about with the family, then this is a perfect little camera.”Rating:

Pocket-Lint reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“The Ricoh GR Digital Mk III follows on from the popular GR Mk I and Mk II where many professional and enthusiast snappers had found a quality compact “home”. The new Mk III has a new, faster, lens, much improved resolution LCD and new image engine and has great image quality pouring from every pixel”Rating:

AlphaMountWorld reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“In terms of speed, when using a fast SD card, the Ricoh GRD III is plenty fast. As noted, 2fps full resolution Jpegs and Raw, make for a camera that leaves little to desire for a fixed wide angle compact. Reviewing images is ultra fast, and so is deleting them. Speed isn’t an issue for the GRD III. A spirited performer. “Rating:

PhotoReview.au reviews the Ricoh GR DIGITAL III and writes;“No blotchiness was observed in shots taken at high ISO settings and, although granularity was evident at ISO 1600, it looked more like film grain than electronic noise. Lower sensitivities were comparatively noise-free. Slight colour shifts were observed in long exposures at ISO settings above 400.”Rating:

The GR DIGITAL II (November 2007) achieved superb image quality by packing superior resolution, low noise, and low colour aberration performance into a thin, compact body. In the 20 months since its release, the GR Digital II it has been very popular with a wide range of customers, especially professional photographers and experienced amateurs.

The new GR DIGITAL III takes the GR line’s traditional high image quality to an even higher level with a new image processing engine, a new CCD, and the newly developed 28 mm/F1.9 GR Lens. Performance has also been enhanced in areas such as quick shooting, operability, and power of expression.

In order to fully respond to the needs of our customers for the GR DIGITAL III, Ricoh will continue to offer the customization services (fine tuning of shutter release button sensitivity, AE/AWB, etc.) that we have provided since the introduction of the GR DIGITAL.

The new GR Digital III will be available at £529.99 inc from the middle of August.
Main features of the GR DIGITAL III

Newly developed large-aperture lens

* The adoption of the new F1.9, f-6.0 mm (equivalent to 28 mm for 35 mm film cameras) lens for the GR DIGITAL III takes compact-body cameras into a new realm of images. This lens makes it possible to shoot with a faster shutter speed than could be used on previous models, or to shoot with the same shutter speed but at a lower setting for ISO sensitivity.
* Despite the large F1.9 aperture, the new lens achieves a resolution level equivalent to that of the F2.4 GR Lens.
* The use of a newly developed lens drive system has made it possible to achieve greater image quality in macro photography.

* The new image processing engine GR Engine III is installed. Using newly developed noise reduction technology, it enables highly sophisticated noise processing to be done while maintaining superior resolution, tone characteristics, and saturation.
* The new high-sensitivity CCD (1/1.7 inch, approx. 10 megapixels) achieves high-sensitivity properties through the use of a new process. The combination of the newly developed GR Lens and GR Engine III significantly increases shooting performance in low-light scenes.
* Even faster shooting capabilities for capturing fleeting shutter opportunities.
* Algorithm improvements have reduced focusing time in low-light scenes. With the Pre-AF function, focusing speed is further accelerated by adjusting the focus to match the movement of the subject.
* The new “full-press snap” function shoots at a preset distance for a one-push full-press of the shutter button.
* Up to five RAW images can be recorded in consecutive shooting* and bracketing.

Enhanced expression capabilities make good use of GR Lens performance.

* Shutter speed priority AE is now available in addition to aperture priority AE.
* A more extensive range of image settings enables the photographer to control hue and saturation. This makes it easy to create images with a wide variety of coloration.
* When photographing subjects with mixed color temperatures, the multi-pattern auto white balance function makes it possible to achieve optimum colour reproduction.

* The My Settings on the mode dial have been expanded to three sets. The number of Fn (function) buttons on the back of the camera body has been expanded to two.
* A function has been added for assigning names to My Settings sets and storing and retrieving them. A maximum of six sets can be defined and stored.

Expandability further enhanced with addition of new options.

* The 21 mm wide conversion lens GW-2 and hood and adapter GH-2 will be sold.
* The available soft cases are the GC-3 for the body only and the GC-4 quick-shooting case type compatible with the GV-2 viewfinder.
* There are also plans to introduce the GF-1 external flash, which can handle TTL flash using auxiliary flash, in the autumn of 2009.

Function to be expanded using firmware.

* Even after the GR DIGITAL III is introduced, we will continue to add new functions through the release of new firmware. By updating their firmware, GR DIGITAL III owners can continue to utilize the latest functions.

Stay away from Ricoh.
These features seem interesting, unfortunatly, Ricoh is a very bad company if you have any problem during the warranty period; they refused to cover the fixing of the zoom that didn’t work. Not only it ruined my vacations because I could’nt take pictures, but Ricoh asked me 50% of the price of the new cam! So I advise to buy other brands such as Panasonic or Canon, where you should not face this kind of issue.